Super 16: Blackhawks move to top of rankings

Maple Leafs, Blues surge to Nos. 2, 3 in NHL.com poll

Taking into consideration the obvious caveat that that the season is 8 days old, the Chicago Blackhawks have at least begun to put to rest any questions about their ability to stay an elite team in the NHL.

The Blackhawks have gotten off to a strong start in all phases of the game and have jumped ahead of the pack as the No. 1 team in NHL.com's Super 16 power rankings, compiled by 12 staff members who participated in the rankings this week.

To create the power rankings, each of the participating staff members puts together his or her version of what they think the Super 16 should look like. Those are submitted and a point total is assigned to each.

The team picked first is given 16 points, second gets 15, third gets 14 and so on down to No. 16, which gets one point.

The Blackhawks were ranked No. 1 by four staff members, No. 2 by three and No. 3 by two. They edged the Toronto Maple Leafs, who received two No. 1 votes and four No. 2 votes.

The St. Louis Blues, who fell two points short of making the preseason Super 16, which was published Oct. 4, finished at No. 3 this week after being ranked first by three staff members and No. 2 by another three.

As expected considering how early it is, opinions varied more than usual among the participants. Twenty-seven of the 31 teams received at least two points. The only teams that weren't ranked by anybody were the Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks.

Check out how the rankings shook out once the math was finished, and be sure stay for the information:

1. Chicago Blackhawks (3-0-1)

Total points: 172Preseason rank: No. 7

Hit: The Blackhawks' top line of Jonathan Toews (two goals, three assists), Brandon Saad (five goals, two assists) and Richard Panik (three goals, three assists) has combined for 18 points. Each player has at least one point in all four games.

Miss: Center Nick Schmaltz, who had three points (two goals, one assist) in the first two games, has missed the past two games with an upper-body injury. He might return against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.

2. Toronto Maple Leafs (3-1-0)

Total points: 166Preseason rank: No. 10

Hit: You can't argue with the production and how the Maple Leafs have spread their scoring out. Nineteen of the 20 skaters who have played for Toronto this season have at least one point. Center Eric Fehr has been shut out in his two games.

Miss: One thing the Maple Leafs must watch out for is the way they allow teams to surge against them and score goals in bunches. It's a defensive structure issue, a risk/reward issue, that they'll likely be ironing out as the season goes along.

3. St. Louis Blues (4-0-0)

Total points: 161Preseason rank: Unranked

Hit: Jaden Schwartz has seven points (two goals, five assists) on a four-game point streak to begin the season.

Miss: The Blues are allowing 37.0 shots on goal per game. They are generating 28.3.

4. Tampa Bay Lightning (2-1-0)

Total points: 153Preseason rank: No. 2

Hit: The Lightning's top line of Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov has picked up where it left off in November, when Stamkos sustained a season-ending knee injury. The line has combined for 13 points, including three goals from Kucherov and five assists from Stamkos.

Miss: Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy hasn't gotten off to the greatest of starts. He has a 3.67 goals-against average and .900 save percentage through three games. The Lightning have allowed at least three goals each of their first three games.

5. Washington Capitals (2-1-1)

Total points: 148Preseason rank: No. 9

Hit: So far, defensemen Dmitry Orlov, Matt Niskanen and John Carlson look comfortable playing 25 or more minutes per game. That's a good sign for a defense group that isn't that deep.

Miss: Something to be mindful of is how many road games the Capitals have coming up. They play 10 of their next 16 games away from Capital One Arena, including seven of their next 10.

6. Pittsburgh Penguins (2-1-1)

Total points: 139Preseason rank: No. 1

Hit: Defenseman Kris Letang has not looked any worse for the wear in his return from his six-month recovery following neck surgery. He's playing his normal minutes and says he feels good doing so.

Miss: Defenseman Ian Cole is considered out indefinitely after getting hit in the face by a shot in a 4-0 win against the Nashville Predators on Saturday and requiring emergency dental work. He has not been ruled out from playing against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

7. Columbus Blue Jackets (2-1-0)

Total points: 131Preseason rank: No. 3

Hit:Sergei Bobrovsky has a 0.48 GAA and .985 save percentage after allowing one goal on 67 shots in two starts. Rookie forward Sonny Milano has four goals in three games, including in overtime for a 2-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.

Miss: Backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo didn't fare too well in his first start, allowing five goals on 29 shots in a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.

8. Calgary Flames (3-1-0)

Hit: Johnny Gaudreau has gotten off to a hot start, and the defense pair of TJ Brodie and Travis Hamonic looks like a keeper.

Miss: The Flames have already had a few games when they were outshot badly and struggled to keep possession of the puck when they did have it. It's not a trend yet, but it's something to watch.

9. Edmonton Oilers (1-2-0)

Total points: 70Preseason rank: No. 5

Hit: Defenseman Oscar Klefbom hasn't scored yet, but he's getting his shot through from the point. He has 13 shots on goal in three games (4.33 per game). He had 201 shots in 82 games last season (2.45 per game).

Miss: The Oilers have been guilty of too many defensive breakdowns the past two games, including several in a 5-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Monday.

10. Los Angeles Kings (2-0-1)

Total points: 69Preseason rank: Unranked

Hit: Dustin Brown has played well and he's getting a lot of minutes, early signs of a rebound season by a potentially rejuvenated player. The 32-year-old had two goals and an assist in 18:12 in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Flames on Wednesday.

Miss: Injured defenseman Alec Martinez (lower body) is skating on his own and close to returning to practice, but he has missed the first three games and is expected to miss more.

11. Vegas Golden Knights (3-0-0)

Total points: 53Preseason rank: Unranked

Hit: The Golden Knights are the first team in NHL history to win its first three games. James Neal has five goals, including the winner in all three games.

12. Nashville Predators (1-2-0)

Hit: The Predators are 5-for-16 on the power play, including 3-for-4 in their come-from-behind 6-5 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

Miss: They have allowed 13 goals in three games, including at least four in each game.

13. New Jersey Devils (3-0-0)

Total points: 45Preseason rank: Unranked

Hit: The Devils have shown a lot of speed early in the season, a major change from the past few seasons, when they were considered one of the slower teams in the League. Rookie forward Jesper Bratt has been a pleasant surprise. He has six points (three goals, three assists) after he had an assist in a 6-3 win at the Maple Leafs on Wednesday.

Miss: Forward Drew Stafford has missed the past two games with a lower-body injury sustained in a season-opening 4-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.

14. Dallas Stars (1-2-0)

Hit: Forward Tyler Seguin has scored two goals and has 24 shots on goal, an average of eight per game.

Miss: Is backup goaltending going to be an issue all season? Kari Lehtonen has allowed six goals on 26 shots in two games, including four on 21 in a 4-2 loss to the Blues on Saturday.

15. Anaheim Ducks (2-1-1)

Total points: 38Preseason rank: No. 6

Hit:Corey Perry already has some goals, a good sign for the former 50-goal scorer, whose production dropped significantly last season. Perry had 19 goals in 82 games in 2016-17 after he averaged 39.4 goals per season each of the previous five full NHL seasons.

Miss: The Ducks don't seem as difficult to play against without center Ryan Kesler (hip surgery) in the lineup. That's not a surprise, but it's a reality they're going to have to deal with until at least late December.

16. Carolina Hurricanes (1-0-1)

Total points: 22Preseason rank: Unranked

Hit: Although it's been only two games, it looks good for the Hurricanes that forwards Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm and Sebastian Aho each has two points. Carolina needs those three players, plus Teuvo Teravainen, to build on their production from last season.

Miss: The Hurricanes play three games in the first 13 days of the NHL season, making it difficult for them to find an early-season rhythm. They play seven games in a span of 13 days from Oct. 17-29.

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